A Trip to Remember
by PhoenixFireBlade
Summary: Aibo has a tradition to bring the Grade Six students out on a vacation to various locations, and this year they went to an amusement park. With the rides, shows, movies and more, the students find themselves having a ball. But what happens when they have to share rooms? (Zanya x Kuguru)
1. Chapter 1

"Is everyone here?" Nisei-sensei asked the students. They were lining up in classes, and Nisei-sensei had to take care of both classes as the teacher from the next class was absent on that very important day. Thankfully Principal Ikarino agreed to come along and supervise the students.

What day was that day? That day was the outing day, the once a year tradition of Aibo Academy. The Elementary Grade Six students would go on a two day one night trip to a specific chosen location voted by the students themselves.

This year, the majority voted for Highland Adventure — an amusement park located in the mountains, so that it would be cooling for the visitors. The students were of course reminded to dress long sleeved and bring extra jackets or warm clothing. It was winter after all.

"Yes, we're all here, Nisei-sensei!" all the students responded energetically. Everyone, including the supervisors on the job were anxious to head out. The buses were lined up as well, awaiting the students.

"Oh yeah, this will be wicked awesome!" Gao exclaimed. Baku, Kuguru and Kiri nodded in excitement. Zanya on the other hand and in the other line (he was in a different class) looked at the little group and smiled, he was happy that the girl he cared for was excited.

Tetsuya turned to look at him. Seeing the smile creep up onto his face, Tetsuya said, "Come on, admit that you're happy going to the amusement park! See, you're smiling, Z!"

Zanya looked away and sighed. Going to an amusement park just didn't suit him, he thought. 'I wish we could go somewhere calming like hot springs, it isn't as crowded and loud as a freaking amusement park,' he mumbled softly in protest.

* * *

As the students were getting onto the bus, Ikarino announced, "You don't need to line in classes, just go with your friends and enjoy! This activity has squat to do with school so everyone, go with whoever you like! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"Yes, principal!" the students exclaimed, chuckling and giggling at the principal's declaration of freedom.

The lines soon broke apart and the students grouped together. Zanya and Tetsuya joined Gao and the others, a huge smile on Tetsuya's face as they greeted one another.

"This is gonna be awesome dudes!" Tetsuya said.

"Yup, definitely going to be one for Aibo history!" Baku supported.

"Man, it's my first time going to an amusement park!" Kiri mentioned.

"Then let's enjoy and have fun!" Gao exclaimed.

The boys kept on exchanging random facts as Baku pulled out a lollipop and stuck it in his mouth. Kuguru turned to Zanya and smiled, opening up her mouth to say something.

"They sure are hyped up about this trip, huh?" she asked the indigo-haired boy.

"Yes, yes they are," Zanya replied as their hands locked together, walking side by side.

* * *

As the students got on the buses, Gao suddenly piped up.

"I call dibs on the back window seat!"

"Hate to burst your bubble, Gao, but the back's taken. The best we can do is the second last row," Zanya mentioned, seeing that the back seats were already taken by other students who were already chatting away.

"Man, the back seats were always the best in the house," Gao sulked as they took the seats of the second last row. Gao and Baku sat together as a pair, over to their right were Tetsuya and Kiri, and in front of them Zanya and Kuguru.

The bus ride started off peacefully, until Ikarino decided to get the students going with activities.

"My dearest students," Ikarino started off, even bowing to the students, making most of them laugh.

"How about we get going with some activities to pass time, I'm sure we can make it interesting."

Kuguru looked over at Zanya, only to find his eyelids heavy; his head leaned against the window. She giggled and then pinched his arm. He jolted up with a start and turned over to see that she was laughing at his reaction. Somehow, a smile made its way up his face, most probably because he cared for her and liked to see her laugh.

"So, who's got a good song for a ride?" Ikarino asked his students.

"I have. It's 3.6.5 by EXO," Kuguru offered.

"Take it away, little girl!" Ikarino encouraged.

Kuguru searched for the song on her tablet and soon, music filled the bus as it sped along. And after a good half hour of singing to various songs, eventually their energy wore down and they fell back to their own activities; Ikarino dozing off in his own seat.

* * *

"…nya… Zanya… Zanya, wake up, we're here!" Kuguru and Gao called out.

"What? Where?" the boy asked sleepily.

"You drifted off halfway through the ride! Not that we weren't doing it either…" Gao said.

"Nothing against you sleeping, bro, except that you're a real heavy sleeper once you do drift off," Baku pointed out.

"Anyways guys, shouldn't we be getting off the bus?" Kiri asked, pointing at the almost empty bus. Pretty much everyone had gotten off by then.

"Come on, were already falling behind dudes!" Tetsuya called, speeding excitedly to the steps to the outside air. His enthusiasm virus seemed to spread, as Gao, Baku and Kiri ran after the guy, leaving Kuguru with Zanya as he grabbed his backpack.

'I wonder if he has given it a thought yet…' she thought to herself.

* * *

"We're here students! Please line up in classes just for this little while, the sooner we get the check-in done, the sooner we can get down to the fun!" Nisei-sensei announced. Hearing that, the students cooperated and lined up, each and everyone of them excited to get down to the rides.

"Okay, and that's the last one!" Nisei-sensei called out as the desk finished up with Zanya's checking in (his name starts with Z, so he's at the bottom of the class list!). "Do you want us to do the room dividing now or do you guys just wanna get down to the fun?" the teacher asked the students who were already turning their heads once in a while to gaze out at the attractive rides.

"Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!" the students chanted out. Gao and the others were using up all the air they had in their lungs to support the idea of going down immediately, while Zanya and Kuguru just turned to each other and shook their heads smiling, knowing that there was no changing their minds at this point.

"Then what are you waiting for standing around here?! Come with me to the entrance of the theme park so I can give you guys your entrance passes! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Ikarino announced and he led the chase down to the park, the students followed him in mobs excitedly.


	2. Chapter 2

"So… what shall we try out first?" Gao asked. They had already gained access to the theme parks, both indoors and outdoors. The six of them were walking side by side each other, each one of them stuffing their hands in their pockets, grabbing onto warm packs that Kuguru provided.

"Hmm, should we just go straight up exciting or should we go on the more relaxing rides to get into the feel first?" Kiri suggested.

"I think we should just work our way up," Kuguru said.

"Naw, the excitement should just come in a rush, we can't wait around," Baku said.

"I'm down for anything, yo!" Tetsuya announced, anxious for his friends to just decide quickly.

"Then how about this, Baku, Kiri, Tets and I will go around on our own to the exciting rides first and you can accompany Kuguru on the relaxing stuff?" Gao asked Zanya, which he agreed to.

"Sure thing, Gao."

"Then let's meet over at that hot dog stall say, 3 hours later?" Kuguru suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Tetsuya agreed and they split.

* * *

"Man, is the line really that long?" Gao asked exasperatedly, looking at the line ahead of them.

"You're lucky it isn't the school holidays yet, bro. The line is even worse then," Baku pointed out.

"Fifteen minutes isn't that bad, is it?" Kiri asked.

"Usually, no. Fifteen minutes is a sign that the line isn't all that long."

Baku was sucking away at another lollipop, Tetsuya had plucked a banana off his head and Gao and Kiri were leaning against the railing, playing a heated game of Rock Paper Scissors. To Gao, who had been really anxious about this trip, fifteen minutes felt like fifteen hours.

'What does it take for the ride to be exciting and for the line to not be so long?' he thought to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zanya and Kuguru were still walking around, undecided on which ride to go on first.

"Your call, Kuguru. Where to now?" Zanya asked the girl who seemed to be enjoying herself in the moment.

"What? Oh, you mean the rides," she responded absent-mindedly.

'What else could I be talking about?' he mumbled to himself, looking away.

"Er… how about that paddle boat thing? The one beside the bumper cars," she suggested, pointing to the water-filled pool and a few paddle boats just lazily lying around.

"Seems nice. It's a two person per boat thing, right?"

"Yeah, let's just start off from there," she said, grabbing Zanya's hand, leading him over.

The two friends got into a green boat with life jackets. Paddling the boat around the pool, they got a gook look of their surroundings. Or at least Zanya did. Kuguru was lost somewhere in her thoughts, so much that her feet gradually slowed down. Zanya looked over and found Kuguru looking very distracted, but he didn't say a word.

* * *

"Whoopee, that was surely a rush!" Gao said. "Now I know why so many people lined up for that one.

"No kidding, way to start off the day with a little excitement!" Tetsuya continued.

"Let's go for that Cyclone ride, shall we?" Kiri asked the others, pointing at the roller coaster that twisted and turned like a pretzel.

"Sure thing, if Gao can handle waiting and you can handle being hit by him in Rock Paper Scissors again, looks like another fifteen minutes of waiting," Baku pointed out.

"Great…" Kiri mumbled, flinching at the thought of having to endure Gao's fierce hits on his hand again.

And so they went over to the ride, Gao and Tetsuya bouncing along in high spirits. The group spotted another group of students going for the ride, and Gao sped up.

"Dammit, I'm not going to wait to get on after you!" he exclaimed, rushing forward and swooping into the growing line beautifully. The other three followed suit but were still behind the other students.

"You guys, just come forward!" Gao said, motioning for his friends to join him in front.

"Dude, we're not supposed to cut line," Baku said, darting his eyes from Gao to the students in front of them then back to Gao. "Only you can come over to the back to join us here."

"Ugh, fine," Gao complained as he sulkily walked over to Baku.

"It's called etiquette," a familiar voice said from behind.

"Zanya!" Kiri exclaimed, not expecting them to have joined this line.

"Whatcha doin here, yo?" Tetsuya asked.

"Kuguru's idea, she said that she wanted to join you guys," Zanya answered.

"So, your excitement is finally overflowing?" Baku asked the girl, who was staring at the ride.

"Yeah, I just wanted to give the fast stuff a go, looks interesting."

"Fine with us," Gao said. "But me and Tets are going up first."

'There's no getting ahead of him now,' Baku whispered to the others.

* * *

"After Baku and Tets get on, it's our turn," Zanya said to Kuguru, who was looking at the little, two-person cars, as they twisted and turned and went up then suddenly rolled back down all of a sudden.

"You think it's safe?" Kuguru asked, turning to look at the boy.

"Don't worry. If it isn't, we have the authority to put up a lawsuit against them."

"Really?"

"I'm kidding. The rides are maintained and inspected from time to time so there's no worrying," he replied, pulling out his hand to hold onto hers. A tint of blush appeared and swept across Kuguru's cheeks. It was almost unnoticeable, but even Zanya's cheeks were turning a very light pink. The air felt sweet as they looked away from one another.

"O-oh look, our turn," Kuguru said, tugging at their locked hands towards the blue colored car.

They got in, Kuguru first then Zanya. As the ride set off, Kuguru seemed to change her mind about going on the ride. She shut her eyes forcefully as her face turned even redder than it already was before they got on. Zanya noticed and put his right palm over Kuguru's left hand.

"It'll be over soon," he said.

After a series of spins, drops and turns, their ride halted and Kuguru's worried expression relaxed into a smile again.

"That wasn't so bad…" she mumbled.

* * *

**I find that my chapters are getting shorter and shorter X3 I'll need to make them long. Please bear with my really boring conversations over and over, I have almost no sense of humor at all. And I wish I did. Whoever ends up here, thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed and if possible, leave a review on what I need to work on please! Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

They came down the stairs from the ride with both their hands retracted back into their pockets. A smile was visible on Kuguru's face as they walked back to Gao and the others, who had gotten off the ride quite a while ago.

"Guys, hate to break it to you, but I'm still a tad bit hungry," Baku said, his stomach grumbling at him.

"Dude, you plucked off all the bananas off my head and you're still complaining?" Tetsuya asked in disbelief. His head was bare thanks to Baku, and he's still hungry?

"Then let me ask you this: Do you ever get full?" Zanya asked the boy.

"Hmm… don't think so," Baku replied while rubbing his empty stomach.

'Then what's the point in complaning that you're hungry if you're never going to be full?' Zanya thought to himself irritably while he looked away.

"Then should we get a waffle or something?" Kuguru asked, pointing to a stall in the left direction.

"Nah, I think he would rather this," Gao said, looking over at an octopus dumpling stall to the right.

"Yeah, let's go, I'm starving," Baku said, running over there with Gao and Tetsuya right behind him.

'What does he mean by starving?!' Kuguru thought to herself as she looked over at Zanya, only to see him pushing up his glasses and sighing.

* * *

They were sitting under a parasol, each one nibbling away at some food stuff they got from a few stalls.

"Mmm… this is good!" Baku said, stuffing the octopus balls into his mouth one after another.

"Not as good as my mom's or grandma's though," Gao said. "The flavoring isn't as nice as the way my mom does it."

"But it's still not bad yo!" Tetsuya said, which he earned a nod from Baku.

"Look over there, they're enjoying themselves even more!" Kiri stated, looking over at the parasol to his left. Zanya and Kuguru were sitting together, busy biting off the fluff on the stick of cotton candy they bought.

"This is sweet!" Kuguru exclaimed in delight. She enjoyed sweets for she had a very sweet tooth.

"Not too bad, I guess," Zanya said as he bit some more of the fluff off. The ball of cotton candy, tore on both sides by the two, was slowly diminishing.

Yep, a little downtime with snacks was what the gang needed. Especially Baku.

* * *

After a few more rides together, Zanya closed his eyes for a while, trying to remember something. He knew that there was a schedule that they had to meet, but he forgot what time. It was unusual for the boy, but he never remembered well if it was told under a noisy situation.

"Hmm… what was it again…?" he mumbled. "Oh right! Kuguru, what time is it?"

"It's around 3:50, why do you need to know?" she asked, curious.

"We needed to be back at the hotel by 4, remember?!"

"You're right!" Baku exclaimed.

The group, alarmed that the sudden realization of the time, raced back to the hotel. But the hallways they needed to get through were long and confusing, so much that Gao nearly took off down the wrong path.

"Hey, Mr Sun Fighter! The hotel's this way!" Baku called out to Gao after seeing him take off down the wrong path. But the boy didn't wait for his friend to turn around and catch up, he simply ran forward.

"Wait for me!" he called out, trying hard to catch up with his friends.

Currently, Zanya led the pack, his training proved useful under these circumstances. Too bad the run back to the hotel was long, they couldn't afford to get a hotel nearby because the rooms were pricey and they were on a school field trip.

"Ah! That hurt…" Kuguru exclaimed after tripping and falling.

"Are you okay?" Zanya asked.

"I'm fine. Though I think I scraped my knee…" she replied, examining her sore knee.

"Here, get on," he said as he bent down, offering a piggyback ride.

"Really? Are you sure?" Kuguru asked, surprised by the boy's gesture.

"It's fine. I don't think it would be long-distance after we've ran so far."

"T-thank you," she said, grabbing hold around the boy's neck.

The group took off again, though this time, Gao led. Zanya ran last as he had an extra duty on his back. Even so, his eyes were focused, he didn't bother competing with others on the speed factor. He wanted to do it for Kuguru. She leaned her head on his right shoulder with her eyes tracing Zanya's focused expression, blushing.

* * *

"Our timing is impeccable!" Kiri exclaimed.

It really was. Even after some delays in their run back, they made it with a minute to spare.

"Here, get down," Zanya said, letting the girl off his back.

"Thank you," she said, the tint of pink returning to her face, quickly spreading to the tip of her ears.

"No problem," he replied, pushing up his glasses. "We should get that wound taken care of though."

Baku sighed as he pulled out yet another lollipop. He stuck it in his mouth and nudged Zanya's arm a little.

"Dude, this lollipop is almost as sweet as you were to Kuguru!" he exclaimed playfully, making Zanya blush slightly.

"S-shut up," he said, turning his head away from Baku.

* * *

"Okay students, we're going to divide the rooms now. All the rooms are two person rooms. Whoever doesn't have a partner please come forward so we can get you settled with another roommate."

"Since there are six of us…" Gao mumbled.

"Two of us can take a room," Baku continued.

"So we should snag rooms that are close by," Kiri suggested.

"And we can get together often!" Tetsuya concluded. "Nice one!"

"Okay since we know that, the bigger question is: Who is going to pair with who?" Kuguru asked.

"How about this. Gao and Kiri take a room, me and Tets take one and you and glasses boy take the last?" Baku suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Tetsuya chipped in.

'A night with a girl? One that just confessed to me not too long ago?' Zanya thought. 'This will be a little…'

* * *

**Phoenix: Maybe this is where the lovey dovey action will start? I'm still not sure!**

**Kuguru: Just get it over with! I'm anxious!**

**Phoenix: Slow down there girl! Love takes time.**

**Kuguru: Fine, but you better update often! **

**Phoenix: I bet that's what everyone is hoping for, including me.**

**Baku: How heavy was she, Zanya? You should know since you carried her back.**

**Zanya: Lighter that you by a long shot, that's for sure. You eat a lot.**

**Baku: Hey!**

**Phoenix: Guys, don't start a cat fight! Anyways, thank you for taking time to read my story everyone, hope you enjoyed it and bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

"So… what floor again?" Gao asked.

"Fourteenth, Gao, fourteenth," Baku said, patting his back lightly.

They were in the elevator with their bags, with the elevator rocketing up to their desired floor. When the doors opened, Baku pressed on the open button to keep the door open for his friends.

"Thank you, Baku," Kuguru said.

They walked down the hallway to rooms 1425, 1426 and 1427, their assigned rooms. Muffled sounds were created by the carpeted floor as the students walked along.

"So, who takes room 1425?" Kiri asked.

"Zanya?" Tetsuya asked.

"I'm fine with anything so just go ahead and choose."

"Then Kiri and I will take 25," Gao declared.

"How bout we take 26, yo?" Tetsuya asked, putting one arm over Baku's shoulders.

"Then we'll take the last," Kuguru said.

Baku gave out the room keys, three for each room. They stuck the key card in and swiped it out. The sensor turned green and they pushed the doors open respectively.

"Wow, the view is awesome!" Gao exclaimed.

Outside was a scenery of the outdoor theme park, and beyond that were the lush green mountains. The first thing they saw as they stepped in the rooms were the bathroom doors. Then there were two beds. The pillows were stacked up and the blanket neatly laid, waiting for them to just pounce on.

"Whoopee!" Tetsuya exclaimed as he threw himself at the bed nearer to the window.

There was a snack table against the light beige walls and fine white curtains draped over the window. Another thicker layer of brown curtains were tied to the side. A table with two single seat sofas facing towards it was placed right by the window.

"This will be a nice spot to sit and relax, huh Zanya?" Kuguru asked, sitting down at one of the seats while looking at the boy put down his backpack.

"Yeah, the view is rather calming with some green in sight."

* * *

"Does anyone want to go back outside?" Gao asked.

"You guys can go if you want, I need a shower," Zanya said.

"Suit yourself," Baku told the boy as he headed back to his room to clean up.

"Anyone else need to freshen up?" Kiri asked.

"Nah, I'm good y'all!" Tetsuya announced.

"Kuguru?" Baku asked.

"I'll just wait for Zanya in our room then we'll both join you guys," she said as she too retreated back to 1427.

* * *

Having the warm water run down his back was rather soothing for the boy. He liked the idea of a quick shower, it helped to clear his mind.

"But I'm still going to have to face it sooner or later, don't I?" He sighed.

He wrapped himself in a towel and got out of the shower. He dried himself off and put his clothes back on.

"I can't tie my hair when it isn't completely dry… Damn it, where's that hair dryer?"

He got out of the bathroom to look for the hair dryer in the closet. Instead, he found Kuguru sitting patiently on the bed, waiting for him.

"Didn't you go with Gao and the others?" he asked.

"I told them I'd wait for you. Are you done?" she asked, her voice perking up slightly. Her eyes trailed his flowing indigo hair, which would usually be tied up.

"I'll be done once I dry and tie my hair. By the way, did you see a hair dryer around?"

"I think there's one here," she said, taking a hair dryer out of the night table.

"Thanks. I'll just be a minute," he said as he took the dryer and disappeared into the bathroom again.

* * *

"Dudes, this place is rad!" Tetsuya said as they walked into the theme park, which was glowing away with lights of all colors. A monorail was slowly making its way through its course while a few roller coasters zipped through the air. A huge Ferris wheel spun mildly in the midst of all the rides, leaving their eyes to take in the sight before them.

"What should we do first?" Kiri asked, still gazing at the rides.

"Roller coasters sound better or do you guys want to grab another snack?" Gao asked.

The students exchanged glances, smiled at each other and raced to the snack bar.

* * *

"How's your knee feeling?" he asked as he walked out of the bathroom with his indigo hair tied to the back of his head.

"Quite sore. Did you bring anything like bandages or ointment?" Kuguru asked.

"I think I have a tube of antiseptic somewhere in my backpack," he answered as he rummaged through his bag.

"Thanks Zanya."

"No problem. Here, sit down," he said, gesturing at the bed. Kuguru sat down and he gently dabbed the medicine onto her wound with a cotton bud. She winced.

"Just bear with me a little while," he said.

After he was done, he bandaged the wound for her and helped her stand up.

"Does it feel too tight?" he asked.

"It's fine," she said as she inspected the bandage. He did a good job with it, and it didn't look ugly or overlapping either.

"We should get a move on. They must be wondering why it takes so long for me to shower," he said, pulling on his shoes.

* * *

"Did they tell you where they were headed?" he asked as they walked along the corridor to the indoor theme park, where it wasn't particularly chilly.

"Not really. But I can imagine them munching away at a snack bar."

"You're right. Where else could they be?"

She smiled at his response as they continued along the hallways.

"Look, it's starting to snow!"

"Yep. First snow of this year's winter. Beautiful," he replied.

* * *

"There they are!" Kiri cried out.

The three snacking away turned to look at Zanya and Kuguru approaching them.

"Hey Z," Tetsuya said.

"Where have you been?" Gao asked.

"Does bathing really take so long?" Baku asked.

"We were walking here and no, bathing doesn't take very long. I was bandaging Kuguru's wound," he replied emotionlessly, not even bothering to make eye contact with them.

'What's gotten into him?' Gao thought.

"Are you guys gonna be done soon?" Kuguru asked.

"We will be done a lot faster if Gao stops taking my food," Baku said, reaching over to Gao and grabbing his food back.

"Hey!"

"What do you mean 'hey'?! This is my food!" Baku replied.

"Dude, cut me some slack!" Gao said, reaching over.

"No way in hell!"

Watching the scene unfold in front of them, Zanya pushed up his glasses somewhat in irritation and sighed loudly, hinting his feelings to the food fighting duo. Unfortunately, they didn't notice. Kuguru did, and she gave off a laugh that was full of uneasiness before dragging Zanya away with her.

* * *

**Phoenix: I'm going to have trouble updating often cause my phone won't let me copy and paste it from my notes. Whyyyyy phone?!**

**Kuguru: I'm sure it's nothing.**

**Phoenix: Easy for you to say. You're not the one typing! *sobs***

**Kuguru: Haha, your loss.**

**Phoenix: Actually, you're also at a loss cause the story's going to progress slower now. In fact, everyone's at a loss. Everyone out there wants a frequent update, even myself.**

**Kuguru: Point taken.**

**Tetsuya: Zanya bro, why are you so grumpy?**

**Zanya: Problem? *glares***

**Tetsuya: No… *runs off***

**Kuguru: There's no need for a glare, Zanya! *smiles***

**Zanya: Okay…**

**Phoenix: Anyways, I hope you guys can leave me a review about my flaws in the story, enjoy it and bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

Silence drifted over the four at the snack bar. Well, other than the hand movements between Gao and Baku, that is.

"Is Zanya seriously not in a good mood during the school field trip?" Kiri asked, the silence finally breaking.

The duo stopped fighting for a moment to think, shrugging after.

"Isn't that his problem?" Baku asked.

"I dunno. Maybe he's got a lot on his mind that's bugging him. Maybe," Gao said.

* * *

"What was that back there?" Zanya asked Kuguru, who was dragging him further and further.

"Nothing you need to worry yourself over. I just felt like your anger, on a scale of 1 to 10, was slowly going from 4 to 5 then to 6."

'Smart girl,' he thought.

"So you dragged me away because…"

"If I didn't, it would probably be like 8 by now."

'I'm not that hot-headed!' he thought.

"Look up," Kuguru instructed the boy. "What do you see?"

"I see… a bunch of flowers, a reindeer, swans, clouds, a rainbow and a hot air balloon as monorail cars."

"Correct! Let's go!" she said, squeezing the boy's hand.

"Fine…" he muttered, getting dragged along by Kuguru.

* * *

'I shouldn't keep this gloom and anger up… Damn it Akatsuki. You had to fall sick and throw up last night,' Zanya thought to himself, clearly aware that his mood was slowly becoming clearer and clearer to his friends. He spent half the night cleaning up after Akatsuki and putting him back to sleep. Fatigue got to him easily and affects his actions.

"Spacing out now?" Kuguru asked him.

"N-no! Of course not!" he replied.

"If you say so."

Prying off her attention was easy. Keeping it that way was hard. He didn't get quite enough sleep, but he didn't want anyone to catch on either. Suddenly, his cell beeped.

"Hey Z! You having fun?" -Akatsuki

"I'm feeling better though" -Akatsuki

"Love ya!" -Akatsuki

He felt the air warm up all of a sudden. Maybe now he could enjoy along with the friends around him.

"Love you too" He clicked send then stuffed the phone back into his pocket. Unbeknownst to him, his brother's eyes filled when he saw what Zanya typed back.

* * *

For Zanya, sitting in a ride was easy. Sitting in a ride with a girl in the same car was still okay, though a minor challenge. Sitting in a ride with a girl leaning onto you was most definitely not okay.

Unless the girl's Kuguru. The slow, peaceful ride in the swan car made his eyelids heavy, until Kuguru decided to lean against his shoulder and hold one of his hands. In response, he adjusted to her lean, and put his other hand over her hands.

"Zanya, has something been bothering you?" she asked.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. You seem to be as distracted as I am," she said.

"You're distracted? By what?" he asked softly.

"Nothing really. It's something minor that I can't seem to get out of my head," she replied.

"If you need to talk, you know what to do," he said.

"Thanks, but no thanks. It's something that I need to wait out and play along with," she said. "Wait, you sneaky ninja! You avoided my question!"

"Oh that," he said, yawning right after. "I didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all."

"Akatsuki?" she guessed.

"Pretty much."

Just then, her phone beeped.

'Where are you guys?' -Baku.

'Look up. We're sitting on a moving swan.' -Kuguru.

* * *

"So this is where you guys ran off to!" Tetsuya said as they regrouped.

"Just checking, but we're supposed to get dinner on our own, right?" Gao asked.

"Correct. We're expected to be back at the hotel by 8.30, when the teachers do a head count before going to bed," Kuguru replied.

"What time is it?" Baku asked.

'You better not even mention about eating dinner now,' Zanya thought.

"It's around half past 5. What do you guys wanna do now?" Kuguru asked.

"A movie?" Gao suggested.

"No horror! Suggest any movies of that genre and I will kill you!" Kuguru exclaimed.

"Aww… but I was thinking of a fantastic horror movie," Baku teased.

"No! Absolutely not!" Kuguru retorted, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head.

"Light-hearted comedy?" Kiri suggested.

"How about we head down to the cinema first then we decide what movie we want?" Zanya said more than asked, shutting down this bicker of genres.

"You're right," Gao said as the group headed off.

* * *

"I think it would be wise to skip movies today…" Kiri said, looking at the movies on list. Most of them were horror, and the timings were off too.

"Rides it is," Gao announced and they went back out of the cinema.

"Ahh…!" A long and shrill scream came and went by the gang. A roller coaster ride just zipped by, and it's exciting feel lingered around Baku and Tetsuya.

"How about that?" Baku asked, pointing at the roller coaster as it disappeared behind the Ferris wheel ride.

"Sure, if you're up for it," Kiri said, smirking.

"Let's make it interesting and have a little bet yo!" Tetsuya suggested.

"Okay then, whoever lets out a scream first buys dessert for the group!" Gao said.

"Then can I not…?" Kuguru asked, pushing her fingers against each other.

"Fine then. Only those who claim to be males compete. Let the games begin!" Baku announced.

* * *

"Wait… there are 5 of us. Each row is two person per row so… where does that leave us?" Zanya asked as they were waiting in line.

"You mean, who will sit alone, right?" Kiri asked.

"Why'd you bring it up in the first place? Unless you're scared of sitting alone?" Baku taunted.

"Who gave you that idea? The idea of it being scarier when you sit alone didn't even cross me," Zanya replied cooly.

"You're one to talk…" Baku said, raising his fist.

"Fine, let's go!" Zanya replied.

"Guys, if you wanna fight, how about we not do it in public?" Kuguru asked.

"Who said anything about fighting?" Gao asked, putting his hand behind his head.

"Don't you recognize this pose?" Tetsuya asked. Kiri followed suit and raised his hand behind his head too.

"How stupid of me…" she said as she facepalmed herself.

"Rock… Paper… Scissors!"

* * *

**Phoenix: I think my brain is toying around with me right now, I can barely concentrate on writing the story…**

**Gao: Yeah, a nice way to wrap up the chapter though. Rock Paper Scissors is just that traditional game that everyone enjoys.**

**Phoenix: Glad you think so.**

**Baku: Hey Phoenix!**

**Phoenix: Yes, Baku?**

**Baku: You better not make me sit alone on that roller coaster!**

**Phoenix: Are you scared to sit alone? In that case, maybe I'll just be mean this one time…**

**Baku: Hey!**

**Phoenix: Anyways, I hope this has been a decent story so far for everyone, and if possible, leave a review, enjoy and bye! Until the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

'How did I end up being the one sitting alone?' Zanya thought to himself. 'Mr. Pouty Cyan hair clearly lost Rock Paper Scissors. Damn.'

They were seated in the ride with Gao and Tetsuya in front, Baku and Kiri second, Zanya sitting right behind in the next adjoining car. At least he was behind the others. The seat belts were secured and the flexible handrail pressed down.

The starting bell sounded, letting them know that the ride would start moving any second.

"Can I, by any chance, get off now?" Kiri asked Baku shakily.

"Dude, you already lost Rock Paper Scissors. You're lucky enough Zanya was willing to change places with you. Now you want to get off?!" Baku exclaimed. "You—"

The ride took off without giving Baku the chance to finish his sentence. The boy clamped his mouth to prevent from letting any more sound out of his mouth. Kiri shut his eyes forcefully and gripped the handrail as if his life depended on him not letting go.

Gao let his hollers fly straight out, but he wasn't screaming in the least. He was having fun! The ride made a sharp drop all of a sudden, and one of Tetsuya's bananas was jerked off, smacking Baku in the face.

"Ah! Hey!" Baku yelled.

He took the banana from his face and held onto it, a smile forming on his face.

"I'll just keep this for later when we get off…" he said. Too bad the banana slipped from his grip and fell off from the ride.

'Whoever ends up with it, you'd better be happy!' Baku thought as the precious fruit landed into the hands of a kid.

A few more turns later, Kiri finally had enough of bottling up his screams and he let it go. He didn't care that he'd have to pay for dessert, his mental health was way more important right now.

"Finally!" Tetsuya exclaimed. He started to let his shouts into the air as well.

But Kiri was too terrified to care that he could have beaten Tetsuya. He was glad to let it out when he did.

* * *

The ride jerked to a stop back at the station and the flexible handrail was pushed up, releasing the 'passengers'. They walked out the exit and saw Kuguru looking at them.

"How was the ride, Kiri?" she asked with a playful grin on her face.

"I know I have to pay alright? There's no need to rub it in," he replied.

"Hey Gao?" Baku asked.

"Yeah, what is it, man?"

"Tonight we should load up on sugar, you know what I'm saying?" Baku asked, nudging Gao in the waist.

"Totally agree with you there. Thanks Kiri!" Gao said, waving to Kiri who was busy trying to ignore his friends' comments on how they were going to load up on him.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Kiri, you don't really like fast rides, do you?" Kuguru asked.

"You don't say. I only joined cause Baku said that it was for guys. I didn't want to chicken out of it," he replied. Zanya patted him in the back.

"You didn't even let out a sound during the entire thing!" Kiri said, turning to face Zanya.

"Yeah, dude! How did you manage it?" Tetsuya asked.

"It's psychological. I know that there will be no harm done to us so what's the point in getting scared?" he replied.

"Good point," Baku said.

"But that ruins the fun," Gao stated.

"Dessert was on the line. How could I risk it if you guys are around?" Zanya replied, shrugging.

Everyone looked at the boy in surprise, wondering how calculative his true nature really is.

"So if we didn't have a bet from the start, you would've forgotten the 'no harm done' fact and enjoyed the ride?" Gao asked.

"Pretty much."

"Wow. We need to be careful," Baku stated.

"Hey, it's not like I'm dangerous or anything!" he retorted.

* * *

The gang was in the food court, munching away. It was around half past seven when they finished their food.

"Guys, on my left," Baku said, a smirk clearly visible on his face.

'Oh no…' Kiri thought, not even wanting to turn in that direction. He knew what Baku was talking about and he didn't want to see it.

"Kiri, my man! A man doesn't go back on his word, you know what I'm saying?" Tetsuya said playfully.

"Just… do what you want. It's not like I can control you guys or anything," Kiri sighed. Kuguru showed sympathy for the boy and patted his back.

"Zanya, mind getting us a bubble milk tea?" Kuguru asked, hinting to the boy that they would share the drink.

"Can we make it less sugar? I'm not fond of it."

"Whatever you like," she said with a smile on her face. He nodded and walked over to Gao, Baku and Tetsuya. The three were busy chatting away in front of the dessert stall. After placing their orders, Gao signaled Kuguru to bring Kiri over.

"You sure you don't want anything, man?" he asked the sulking cyan haired one.

"Does it look like I'm in the mood?" Kiri asked, controlling himself from glaring at Gao.

"Okay… I'll take that as a no."

* * *

"So what now? We have like a half hour left," Kuguru asked, tugging Zanya's sleeve to let him wants she wants a sip. He handed the cup to Kuguru, even though he didn't get a taste.

"I don't know. Do you guys want to go again or should we just head back?" Gao asked, looking back at his friends.

"Maybe it's better to head back. We've ridden on every single ride anyways," Baku said, giving his opinion. Kuguru chucked the empty cup into a trash can.

"I'm down for a race back to the hotel!" Tetsuya exclaimed, bouncing up a little.

"And maybe we can play a game while eating chips or something tonight?" Gao suggested.

"Either way, we need to remember that we need to be back, latest 8.30," Kiri mentioned uninterestedly.

"So back to the hotel it is?" Gao asked.

"One more thing, Gao," Baku said.

"What is it?"

"Last one back pays for the chips!" he declared and took off.

"You should've waited for us to start together!" Gao shouted, taking off after Baku with the others right behind him.

* * *

**Phoenix: I really am getting lazier and lazier nowadays…**

**Kiri: They really spend too much…**

**Baku: Sorry bro! It's force of habit!**

**Gao: We naturally eat a lot.**

**Kiri: Well, you should learn to have a little self-control over your mouths and stomachs!**

**Phoenix: He's right, you know.**

**Gao: You're siding with him now?!**

**Phoenix: No. I'm just saying that you guys need to control the amount of food that goes into your mouth.**

**Baku: Basically you are siding with him.**

**Phoenix: Believe what you want. It's not like I can change your numbskull minds anyway.**

**Baku and Gao: Hey!**

**Phoenix: So… enjoy reading, leave a review if possible and bye! **


	7. Chapter 7

"Hah… hah… hah…" they panted as they ran into the hotel lobby. Last place was close between Kiri and Kuguru.

"So which one of you two is paying? The convenience store is right over there," Baku asked, pointing at the shop in the left corner. The two looked at each other.

"Fine, I'll do it. Your money quota is almost gone anyway," Kuguru said.

"Thanks. If I had to buy food for these two twice in one night…" Kiri sighed, relieved that the hole in his pocket wasn't getting any bigger.

"Then what are we waiting for yo?" Tetsuya asked.

"Each person chooses one packet and that's it!" Kuguru called after them.

* * *

"They seriously can't be controlled, can they?" Kiri said, looking at Gao and Baku, each one holding onto two packs each.

"I've given up trying to get them to put it down anyway. It's hopeless," Kuguru said, shaking her head.

"So guys…" Gao mumbled as he crunched on a chip. "Are we allowed up yet?"

"We can if Nisei-sensei allows it," Baku said.

"How about that, we can go tell him now since he's over there," Tetsuya said, pointing at the side of the information desk. Nisei-sensei was running through his papers, making sure that his class lists were in place.

"I'll go tell him," Zanya offered.

The others dug into Gao's opened bag of chips and stuffed it into their mouths. Seeing Zanya's green light signal, the others joined him and they went up in the lift together.

* * *

"How about we all meet up in Gao's house 5 minutes later? I wanna sit down for a while," Kuguru said as they approached their rooms.

"Yeah, and I need time to heal my wounds in my pocket," Kiri sighed.

"Fine, but the night won't last forever. Especially with the 10.30 lights out rule," Baku said.

"You think anyone's gonna follow it?" Zanya asked.

"Some will. Others won't even care," Kiri replied.

"Not me," Gao said.

"I don't think any of us care, right?" Tetsuya asked, smiling.

"No, not really," Kuguru replied.

"So what time do we end our game?" Gao asked, hoping for a late answer.

"More importantly, what game do we play?" Zanya asked, pointing out that they hadn't even decided on the game.

"A harmless game of 'Would you rather'?" Kiri suggested.

"Emphasis on 'harmless'," Zanya muttered.

"Sure thing! So we meet at my room in 5, okay?" Gao asked.

"We got it!" they agreed and headed back to their rooms.

* * *

"So… who goes first?" Gao asked while chewing a cheese-flavoured chip.

"Kiri should start since he suggested it, right?" Tetsuya said, looking at the unprepared boy just make himself comfortable on the bed opposite him.

"Uh what? Umm…"

"We don't have all day," Baku said.

"Err… I pick Gao!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Who me?"

"Yeah! Umm… would you rather…" he said, thinking of a question to throw Gao's way. "Would you rather be able to skip training once or eat 3 full plates of octopus balls?" he asked.

"Let me think…" Gao mumbled. "I choose the octopus balls!"

'Now how did I see the choice of food coming…" Kiri thought to himself.

"My turn! I pick…Baku!"

"What would you possibly have to offer me?" Baku asked, ruffling his bangs trying to act cool. The others simply rolled their eyes at his actions.

"This will bring you down to earth! Would you rather sleep with your mom or your dad?" Gao asked with a devious smile on his face.

"WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?!" Baku shouted and asked at the same time, definitely embarrassed. "I sleep alone!"

"If you had to, who would you pick, mama's boy?" Gao asked and everyone looked at the boy, forcing an answer out of him.

"I am NOT a mama's boy! Er… I pick… my dad!" he exclaimed, trying to hide his blush with his hands.

"Daddy's boy then," Zanya mentioned nonchalantly and the others laughed.

"This question is closed! Now it's my turn, let's see who gets sent into hell!" Baku exclaimed. "I pick…" He didn't finish the sentence, but looked at Zanya and started smirking. Zanya caught on and sighed, knowing that he was the victim.

"What is your question?" he asked uninterestedly. Baku looked at him for a while longer, his smirk getting bigger and bigger.

"I'll save your embarrassment for later," Baku said, keeping Zanya on edge.

"Why don't you spit it out?! You scared of something?"

"I have my reasons. I pick… Tetsuya."

"Why me, yo?"

"No reason. Would you rather…, no, I'll give you a situation. Okay, you're at a cliff side. You see me and a random damsel hanging off the cliff, slipping anytime soon. You only have time to save one person. Would you rather save me or the girl?"

"No offense bro, but I choose the girl."

"Why?! I'm your friend and she's just some random girl you don't know squat about!" Baku asked, surprised at him choosing the girl rather than himself.

"I wouldn't be able to pull you up anyways, and besides, you should know how to swim by now," Tetsuya reasoned.

"He is right about the inability to haul you up," Zanya muttered.

"Watch it ninja, I've still got your question in mind!"

"Guys, remember I've still got my turn to choose!" Tetsuya exclaimed, breaking up the tension between the two. "I pick Kuguru." The girl looked at Tetsuya with a smile on her face. "Say some random buddyfighter challenged you to a match. You don't bother building another deck for yourself. You go to Gao. Would you rather borrowing his Magic Guts deck or his Brave Soleil deck?"

"Brave Soleil."

"Why such an easy question?!" Gao asked.

"I like to not overwork myself thinking of stuff that doesn't really matter."

"I suppose it's alright. There was no rule that all the questions had to be embarrassing," Kiri said.

* * *

**Baku: Why is it ending?!**

**Phoenix: Cause I want it to. I'm not making it any longer. I'm really tired right now. I already made it a point to update it once every two days, and I intend to press the post new chapter button before 12am.**

**Baku: Fine, I see your point.**

**Phoenix: Thank you. *yawns* Isn't somebody else supposed to be even more anxious about their safety in this game?**

**Baku: I just want to see his face when I ask the question.**

**Zanya: Leave me alone, would you?**

**Phoenix: Unfortunately the game will be cut short, I won't be doing all their questions to each other. That's cause I want to skip to the next part in my story quickly. So enjoy, review please and until the next chapter! Bye bye~**


	8. Chapter 8

**Phoenix: I'll just be really frank right now and say that I'll skip most of the game, gonna go straight to Baku's question, hope you don't mind!**

* * *

The gang played and played each other, throwing questions back and forth. Back and forth meaning not playing into Zanya or Baku, lest give them a chance to fire up the already created sparks. There was tension that rose with every question given, though it was between the two people who weren't asked at all. They were clearly waiting, with full anticipation, that a question would land on them, so they could embarrass the other.

"Gao, in a situation where if you chose one, the other would have to vanish, never will you see again, would you rather choose me or Tetsuya?" Kiri asked.

"Gosh man, that's harsh. How can I choose just one? Can't I just take both of you guys?"

"In real life, yes. In this question, no. Choose," Kiri forced.

"If I choose one, the other's feelings won't be hurt, right? It is just a game," Gao asked, making sure his friends wouldn't get mad at him.

"Naw man, I'm cool," Tetsuya said.

"It's okay," Kiri told his friend.

'But how can I just decide? Even I don't know who I should choose. Man… here goes nothing,' he thought, then he picked his hand off the ground and shut his eyes.

"Eeny meeny miny mo, which one of my friends will I choose for this question?" he said, changing the direction of his finger every time he let out a syllable. Everyone else dropped to the ground, exasperated with his way of deciding.

"Tetsuya my man, we're bonded!" he exclaimed as he slapped Tets a high-five.

"You do know that if you use this method to choose girlfriends, the one that didn't get picked would just slap you in the face," Zanya said, pushing up his glasses.

"I know, man. But these are my best bros, right?" Gao said, pulling both Tetsuya and Kiri under his arms, smiling his usual goofy smile.

"My turn! I pick… Baku!" he said in a fit of excitement without thinking. The colour from Zanya's face drained as soon as he heard the name.

"Finally! Hit me with your question and make it fast!" Baku exclaimed with sheer joy.

Gao stopped to think. No one would be that happy to be picked, right? Then he remembered the reason nobody has called on him for as long as they were playing between the four of them.

"Ahh… umm… Can I please take back the name?" he said, seemingly shrinking into a corner under Zanya's death glare.

"Nope! Now give it your best shot!" Baku said, slapping Gao hard on the back.

"Umm… well… would you rather sing Bruno Mars' 'Marry you' in front of the entire school or dance Gangnam style at Castle?" Gao asked, trying to be as creative as possible.

"Wow. When I said 'your best shot' I didn't think you'd take it seriously. Let me think…" Baku said, trailing off in his sentence. "I choose singing in front of the school. Okay now Zanya!" he rushed, not even giving time for his friends to comment on his answer.

"Heh heh… Would you rather kiss or be kissed by Kuguru? And you're going to do it after you make your choice." he asked with a mischievous smirk plastered on his face.

Zanya didn't answer, his face turned into pure shock while Kuguru blushed madly. One way or another, they were going to either kiss or be kissed.

"Are these questions allowed?!" Zanya asked embarrassedly, trying to escape this predicament of his.

"Anything is allowed so just go ahead and answer it," Kiri said, shrugging while everyone else, well other than Kuguru who was still blushing, started at Zanya, somewhat forcing an answer out of the boy.

"I… I choose…" he stammered, trying to hold off answering.

"Choose?" Gao and Tetsuya asked in unison.

"To… to be kissed."

"Ooh… So you like to be on the receiving end?" Kiri asked playfully.

"No!" he exclaimed.

"Kuguru, make it so," Baku said, swiping his finger from one side to another.

The girl, with her eyes shut, inched over to Zanya. He gave up resisting the group and let Kuguru's lips gently touch his cheek. By the looks of the blush on both their faces, you'd think that Kuguru was even more embarrassed by it. All the witnesses clapped their hands while giving them approving nods.

"Where's the ring, Mr and Mrs Kisaragi?" Baku asked, letting out a huge fit of laughter.

"Wasn't the kiss enough for your entertainment?" Zanya asked, reaching for and grabbing a tissue from the night stand.

"Guys, it's way past bedtime," Kuguru said, flicking on her tablet.

"Then we should just call it a day," Zanya said while turning to head out the door.

"Remind me again, when did we need to be downstairs for breakfast?" Gao asked as his friends left the room.

"8:30 latest. See you tomorrow," Baku said, waving to Gao before closing the door.

* * *

"Zanya, I'm done!" Kuguru said with her hair down after taking her bath. The boy looked up from his phone and got off his bed, swinging his towel and night-clothes over his shoulder as he headed into the bathroom.

"Go sleep first," he said, patting Kuguru as he shut the bathroom door behind him.

She stood there for a moment, looking lost in thought.

'Zanya's touch seemed really warm,' she thought as she touched the part of her shoulder that had been patted by the boy.

She walked over to her bed in her frilly pale pink nightgown. Tucking herself in, she suddenly remembered something.

'Oh no! I left all my clothes, even my lingerie inside the bathroom!'

Zanya hung his towel on the racks, and that's what he saw. Kuguru's clothing still dangling off it, including her pink and purple bra. Nosebleed.

'God damn it, why did she leave it here?! She knows I'm sensitive about… girl stuff,' he thought to himself as he washed the blood down the sink. Rubbing his nose, he pulled his towel off the racks and resorted to using the hook on the door.

"Maybe it's wiser if I don't ask at all…" he mumbled as he turned on the water.

'There's just one thing I don't understand so far,' he thought. 'Why would Kuguru fess up so hurriedly that day in school? She barely caught her breath at that time then dragged me away so we could talk at that one secluded spot. What's with the rush? A confession is serious business, that I know, but…' He sighed. There were so many things he had not yet understood.

'Anyways, I've got to give her an answer soon, and I think I've made up my mind. Kuguru, I'm confessing my love to you too.' He turned off the shower and changed into his clothes, making sure to take all his stuff with him before he left the bathroom.

Kuguru was still worrying about the lingerie she left in there until she couldn't sleep. When she heard the door open and a tired sigh let out, she ducked her head inside her pillow and pretended to be fast asleep. Zanya walked out with his right hand still ruffling his hair, and put away his usual clothes in his backpack. Hanging his rather wet towel in the closet, he looked over his shoulder.

'She is pretty cute when she's sleeping.' He smiled.

He sat down onto the edge of Kuguru's bed and looked at her for a few seconds. He pulled the blanket so that it covered more of her and looked at her some more.

'To kiss or be kissed,' he thought. 'I've experienced the be kissed part, maybe it's time to know what it's like to kiss someone else.' He gently brushed her hair away from her forehead, and looked at her seemingly sleeping face.

'Oh God, what is he going to do?' Kuguru thought exasperatedly.

He bent down closer to the girl and laid a soft one on her forehead, smiling and running two fingers through her hair after. He clambered into his covers and fell asleep.

'Zanya, why don't you have the courage to tell me how you feel?' she thought, tugging at her blanket and finally falling asleep.

* * *

**Phoenix: Whoopee! This entire chapter was done in less than an hour and it's still the longest and the most satisfying! (For me, at least)**

**Kuguru: YESS! Finally the kind of fluff I've been waiting for! **

**Phoenix: You sure waited a long time for this, huh?**

**Kuguru: Of course! I was seriously getting impatient.**

**Phoenix: Believe me, I was waiting to get to this chapter myself. Shippers will be shippers!**

**Kuguru: I think I'm gonna melt away soon…**

**Phoenix: Well then get yourself together because there's gonna be even more fluff in the chapters to come, most likely in the next or the one after the next where I wrap up my story. Well then, read, enjoy, please review if you can and bye-bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

Zanya's eyelids fluttered open. He caught sight of the clock. Seven.

He was surprised that he'd actually get up on his own at that time. Usually when he did was pretty much because it was absolutely necessary like going to school. Or when the outside world disturbed his sleep as in Akatsuki shouting his ear off about something totally irrelevant. So then why…

Then he felt it. Something or someone had wrapped around his legs, and he felt a presence behind him. He turned and came face to face with a fast asleep Kuguru. He blushed at the fact that she was under his covers. Who knows how long she'd been there.

"Kuguru, what are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"Huh? Doing what?" she answered sleepily.

"Look at yourself! You're sleeping under my covers in my bed!" He absolutely disliked the idea of sharing beds with someone other than family, and more often than not he'd even reject Akatsuki when the poor kid wanted to share beds with his idolized big brother for the night.

"I'm sorry about that Zanya! It's just that last night the weather turned really cold and I wanted to look for warmth. I clambered under your covers a little and I must have fallen asleep, I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Then why don't you turn up the heater?!" he asked, accidentally raising his voice a little, making Kuguru flinch slightly.

"I did, but it was still too cold for me to sleep, sorry Zanya…" she said. Zanya huffed a little before rising off the bed and rashly grabbing his towel from the closet.

"Zanya, are you mad?" she asked nervously, afraid of upsetting the boy.

"Not really. I'm just naturally moody when I get out of bed. It'll change after I clean up," he answered before shutting the door behind him without slamming it.

"Looks like Akatsuki was right all along…" she muttered and cuddled under Zanya's blanket again.

* * *

"Kuguru, it's your turn," Zanya said as he tied his hair while walking out of the bathroom.

"Zanya, can I ask you something?" she asked as she sat upright. In his bed, mind you.

"Sure, what's up?"

"About that thing…"

"What do you mean?" he asked, showing her a faked confused face. He knew she was talking about the confession.

"The… confession."

'She's persistent today. Usually when I did that she'd let the subject drop but today she's not letting me go.'

"I've thought over it," he answered, turning to look at her.

"Do you have… an answer?"

"Give me until the end of this week and I'll give you the answer."

"Okay, Zanya, I'll wait," she said, her mood dropping a little.

"Anyways, I have a question for you too."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Why'd you leave your lingerie and your clothes in the bath last night? You know you're sharing a room with a guy." She blushed at the mention of her undergarments.

"N-no reason!" she exclaimed before rushing in and slamming the door because of her thorough embarrassment. Zanya snickered a little.

* * *

"How did you guys sleep?" Kiri asked as they munched down on their breakfast.

"Not so good. Last night was really cold," Gao said, yawning right after.

"Me too. I barely slept a wink," Tetsuya said with his eyelids half closed.

"Zanya?" Kiri asked.

"Last night was alright, I guess," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck. Kuguru blushed at the mention of 'last night'.

"Kuguru? Your cheeks are pink," Baku pointed out while stuffing his mouth with sausages.

"Y-you must be seeing things! I-I'm not blushing! And don't talk with your mouth full!" she said, trying to pry off the attention given to her.

"Whatever you say." She heaved a sigh of relief, and to her right, Zanya did too. If they continued to ask about 'last night', the two of them would've surely been found out. Sleeping on the same bed was the last thing they had wanted to let the others know.

* * *

So the morning was spent going around the indoor and outdoor theme parks. Actually, the gang spent more time waiting in line rather than actually riding on the rides. Suddenly, a single ride caught Baku's attention and he had an idea.

"Hey, Zanya, Gao. I challenge you guys to the SpaceShot thing!"

Zanya and Gao looked over at what Baku was talking about, and saw the ride suddenly drop and all the people on it screamed. They paled a little just looking at the speed it was dropping at.

"SpaceShot? I think you mean SpaceShit. I'm not going on that thing," Zanya declared.

"I'm also gonna back out of this one if you don't mind. Sure I like fast rides but this is just ridiculous. Beisdes, what are we going at?" Gao said.

"To see who doesn't scream or screams the least. You also can't close your eyes."

"Is there a prize for the winner?" Zanya asked.

"Are you actually serious?!" Tetsuya asked out of bewilderment.

"I guess there will have to be. The one who screams the most will be the one who screams the least or doesn't scream at all's servant," Baku decided.

"A servant is a little too much. How about the loser buys the winner whatever he wants?" Zanya suggested.

"Guys, are you seriously going at this crazy ride?" Gao asked.

"We are, unless Baku is planning up an excuse to get out of buying me a gift when I win," Zanya said, somewhat declaring that he is the sure winner.

"'When I win'? You sound pretty sure of yourself," Baku said, looking at Zanya slyly.

"What if both you guys don't scream, yo?" Tetsuya asked.

"We'll deal with it when it happens, won't we?" Zanya and Baku said in unison, decided on battling it down to the last nerve.

* * *

"Guys, when you have to, you must let it go, okay?" Kuguru said worriedly.

"Hey guys! I found out the real reason why Gao backed out in the first place!" Tetsuya exclaimed, pointing at a board with height markings. "They say you have to be 160 to get on!" He trotted over to Gao and wrung his arm over Gao's shoulders.

"We didn't know that before! Besides, I'm not going on that crazy ride even if the height requirement was only 50!" Gao retorted, blushing a little due to embarrassment.

"So just by coincidence, both of our sacrificial victims are pretty tall," Kiri pointed out.

"We're not sacrificial victims! We're men who decided to take on the challenge," Baku exclaimed.

"So you guys will be the judges?" Zanya asked, looking over his shoulder to face the squabbles. Gao, Kiri, Tetsuya and Kuguru nodded at the boy.

"Two more, I need two more. Anyone in pairs?" the operator asked, waving her hand at the line. Zanya and Baku raised their hands and the few people in front let them through. They were strapped in their seats and the starting bell sounded. Baku took a deep breath, he was determined to make Zanya buy him a huge, expensive lunch. The other just crossed his fingers and kept his cool. The ride started.

"We can blink right?" Baku asked.

"Of course, genius!" Zanya replied.

The ride was at its highest, and they knew that it would drop anytime. Still it was terrifying, even though you know that it's going to happen anyway.

"Ahh!" The other people on the ride screamed, but Zanya and Baku kept silent.

'Don't scream, don't scream, don't scream…' Baku told himself repeatedly in his head. Zanya on the other hand, kept a straight face while biting his tongue to prevent from screaming. Even psychology didn't work as well as he hoped. The ride jerked to a stop halfway and then shot itself back up again. It's routine went again and again, each time dropping at a faster speed and it would stop closer and closer to the ground. Fear was piling up.

'Okay, whatever Zanya has in mind, it can't be that bad right? I'll take my chances because…' he looked at the indigo haired boy beside him, still keeping a rather straight face, "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" he screamed. Zanya's eyes widened when he heard Baku's words, knowing that the competition had finally ended.

"Hey guys, Baku's mouth is open!" Kiri said as he pointed at Baku. The others traced the boy's finger and clapped. Baku, the person who suggested the challenge, lost.

* * *

The two of them got out of the ride a little shaky. Both were scared almost to their limits, but Baku cracked first.

"I-I-I told you I'd w-win," Zanya stuttered.

"So what do you want?" Baku asked, taking a deep breath and calming down from the scare.

"Not me, Kuguru will choose what she wants," Zanya said, passing on the winner's privileges to Kuguru. She gave a broad smile to Baku, and whispered a soft "thank you" into Zanya's right ear.

* * *

**Phoenix: Wow, just wow. Is it just me or are my chapters a little longer?**

**Kuguru: Slightly longer. That's a good thing since the ones in front were a little too short.**

**Phoenix: Yeah, I think I caught on. Thanks for the reminders.**

**Kuguru: You're welcome.**

**Kiri: When are you going to wrap up the story?**

**Phoenix: Next chapter, Kiri. Next chapter. Afterwards I'll most probably stick to reading Stormy003's stories. They're wonderful.**

**Kiri: Okay then. So check out Stormy's stories if you guys can! Oh and please be aware of the fact that her requests are closed. **

**Baku: Did something happen with Zanya last night, Kuguru? You blushed when we brought it up.**

**Kuguru: No! Everything was fine, ha ha…**

**Baku: You're a terrible liar, you know that?**

**Kuguru: What are you talking about? I'm not lying~**

**Baku: Never mind…**

**Phoenix: So guys, read, enjoy, please review and bye~**


	10. Chapter 10 (final)

'It's not like I'm a sucker for trouble, but Zanya's being kinda hard to convince. Kinda. Kuguru asked me if I could help to push them together and I've used almost every trick I can think of. But it's not like they're very much closer,' Baku thought.

Kuguru was holding a small sized stuffed teddy bear, courtesy of Baku of course. She held it like it was her precious tablet, close to herself. Zanya was following quite closely behind the girl, seemingly thinking of something.

'Ugh, is this gonna be cliche?' Baku thought to himself. 'That's the only way for me to push them any closer though. I'll try when the time's right.'

* * *

It was around three in the afternoon. Due to the season, the sun seemed to want to go to sleep already. The sky was painted very different shades of orange, yellow and red; a perfect sky for a Ferris wheel ride.

"Hey guys, look at the giant wheel," Baku said.

"What about, man?" Gao asked.

"Kuguru have you gone on it yet? You told me you wanted to try the ride," Baku lied, making it up on the fly. His eyes sent Kuguru a 'Please play along' message, and Kuguru understood.

"No, I haven't had the chance to yet," she replied, showing a longing face.

"How about you go accompany her, Zanya?" Kiri suggested, trying his best to help Baku out.

"Hey, what's this all—" Tetsuya asked but was cut off by Gao, who was somewhat aware that something was going on.

"Nothing really!" Gao called out, clamping Tetsuya's mouth, ordering him to shut up.

"Sure thing," Zanya replied to Kiri. "You still up for it?" he asked Kuguru, who by now had turned slightly red.

"Y-yes."

* * *

'Finally, it's our turn,' Zanya thought to himself. 'This ride is so huge, it's gonna take a while before we get down on the ground again.'

Kuguru slipped her fingers around Zanya's and grasped his hand gently, the other hand still hugging the teddy bear. The operator showed them into their car and closed the door for them, smiling as she did so. Kuguru smiled back but Zanya had little to no emotion, he was thinking of other things.

"So umm, Kuguru…" Zanya started off, feeling a mixture of nervousness, awkwardness and embarrassment.

"Yes?" Kuguru asked with her usual perky voice but inside her, she felt millions of butterflies.

"Ah… umm… it's nothing."

"Okay then," Kuguru replied, turning her head a little. There was a silent pause before Kuguru broke the silence.

"Isn't the sunset just beautiful?" she asked Zanya, stealthily reaching for his open palm again.

"Yeah. I wish I could draw it though," Zanya replied. Kuguru laughed at his answer.

"Your art isn't very good is it?" Kuguru asked the boy, still smiling.

"No, how I wish for it to be though."

"Zanya, I know it's a little too soon, but did you give it anymore thought yet?" Kuguru asked, knowing that this was going to be the end of the trip. She had wanted to make it memorable but now was her last chance to do so.

"I guess I have an answer," he replied. "But before I answer yours, you answer mine."

Kuguru stayed silent. She had no idea, and maybe she didn't want to know, what Zanya would ask her. But she gave him a slow nod anyway.

"Why did you rush the confession in school the other day?"

"I… umm…" she mumbled, not knowing how to express herself. The butterflies she had now became an angry mob inside her. She was confused for a moment.

"I heard you were gonna change schools next year, so I rushed to tell you," she finally replied, in a way relieved that she managed to say what she wanted to.

"Who told you that?" Zanya asked, feeling confused. He wasn't going anywhere else for middle school next year.

"Er… gossip?" she replied.

Zanya sighed. "Most gossip are lies, Kuguru," he said rather sternly.

"They said your dad was getting promoted or something, so you guys would move," Kuguru told the boy.

"The part about my dad getting promoted, true. Me changing schools? Totally out of the question."

'And I was such a fool to believe them,' Kuguru thought, feeling embarrassed.

"So that's the reason you rushed it with telling me?" Zanya asked.

"Yes," she replied with her head hung pretty low. "I was afraid that I'd miss my chance at getting it straightened out with you."

To her surprise, Zanya started smiling, then stifling laughs and finally laughed out loud. She was shocked for quite some time before Zanya opened his mouth to say something.

"So you believe stuff you hear on the grapevine? And then act accordingly to it?" he said as a sudden outburst. Kuguru's cheeks turned redder.

"I guess I panicked a little, heh heh."

"It's okay," he replied, finally calming down. "So… my answer."

Kuguru perked up a little, paying full attention to Zanya.

"Kuguru, you're a very nice girl, and I think any boy that manages to get you is very lucky," he started. Kuguru's hopeful expression dropped a little, this sounded like a rejection rather than the other answer that she was hoping for. She felt tears of emotion rush to her eyes.

"You're pretty, smart, sensible and energetic. Any boy out there in the world would be happy to give anything to be with you," he continued.

'Except for you,' she thought. Even more tears gathered. Some were about to come flowing out but she forcefully held them back.

"Kuguru, I…" he said, letting his voice trail off on purpose. He was happy with the drama he created, but he hid his real emotions anyway. A rather sorry face he hung on himself, making Kuguru start to believe that he was really going to reject her. She couldn't suppress the tears; they came flowing down one by one bitterly.

"I love you."

…

One.

…

Two.

…

Three.

…

"You what?" Kuguru asked, sounding a little hurt but happiness covered it up in no time.

"I thought you were going to reject me!" she shouted, pressing herself against Zanya. He let out a satisfied laugh after having toyed with her emotions properly. He wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. The tears of rejection suddenly became tears of happiness.

"Here, let me wipe those tears," he said, pulling out a handkerchief from his jacket and gently wiped it off.

"Zanya, you idiot…" she mumbled, embarrassed by the boy for the second time in a row.

The two of them looked at the sunset for a while then looked back at each other. Kuguru threw her arms across Zanya's shoulders while he reached for her delicate face. Shutting their eyes, their lips touched and for once, Kuguru felt happy beyond words. The feelings for her had bottled up inside Zanya for some time as well, and he was happy that he finally said what he had meant to.

* * *

"Looks like it went pretty well," Baku said, the four looking at Zanya and Kuguru get off the ride. A light blush was visible on their faces as they approached the others.

"Yeah, it did," Kuguru said, finally clearing her throat from crying earlier.

"You guys set this up, didn't you?" Zanya asked with his arms crossed.

"Look, admit that you're happy already!" Kiri said.

"Aren't you gonna thank us for pushing you guys into the situation?" Gao asked.

"You were never going to do anything on your own so we decided to help you guys along," Baku said.

"Thank you," Zanya mumbled, muffling his words in his scarf.

"Shouldn't we head back to pack our bags, yo?" Tetsuya asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Kuguru replied as she grabbed Zanya's hand, walking side by side with him.

* * *

**Phoenix: Wow, I never thought I'd get it done.**

**Kuguru: You shouldn't have left it to the last minute.**

**Phoenix: Okay give me a break!**

**Kuguru: Fine, whatever.**

**Phoenix: Contradicting my previous author's note, I might or might not wanna write more stories. For now, no. School is gonna reopen soon, dammit. I'm falling behind the rest of the class already X3**

**Zanya: That's why you should take studying seriously.**

**Phoenix: I get it, genius. So read, enjoy and leave a review. Thank you all for reading my story and bye bye!**


End file.
